The Public and Public Relations: Examining their nexus in environmental pollution, laws, and policies of government

Abstract

Goals 6, 13, 14, and 15 of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) share global concerns of making the earth cleaner for human habitation. In Nigeria, pollution thrives despite the government’s laws and policies. In the country, opinions on public issues are strong, and public relations (PR) professionals are perceived moulders of societal viewpoints. This study examines the connection between public awareness and PR actions on the sociological problems of environmental pollution, laws, and government policies in an industrial cum residential community in Southwest Nigeria. Based on the Environmental Communication Theory, which espouses nature-human environmental connectivity, this study adopts a quantitative, non-experimental, and descriptive methodology. Probability and non-probability sampling design and multi-stage techniques are applied to select 400 residents of Ota community. Scientific Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) is used to process 358 successful copies of the questionnaire. Results show that public awareness of environmental pollution is high; but low on its laws and policies. The contributions of public relations practitioners are acknowledged, but the government’s actions are unfamiliar. Meagre public concern for environmental laws and policies and weak motivation by PR practitioners and the government threaten the achievement of identified SDGs of the UN at the study’s location.